Water and Fire
by Daydreaming Heart
Summary: Riverfur, a RiverClan warrior who lived ages before Firestar's time, was a fiercely dutiful, loyal, and compassionate cat who's only wish was to keep her family and friends safe. Like the river that guarded her clan, she was destined to defend. ...Just as the duplicitous ThunderClan tom who stole her little sister's heart was destined to cause suffering like a great fire could...
1. Allegiances

**ALLEGIANCES**

 **RIVERCLAN:**

 **LEADER** **Rosestar-** Dark ginger and white tabby she-cat

 **DEPUTY** **Sandtail-** Stocky light brown tom

 **MEDICINE CAT** **Rippleflower-** Aging black and white she-cat

 **Apprentice, Mintberry**

 **WARRIORS** (toms and she-cats without kits)

 **Duskwind-** Muscular black tom with blue eyes

 **Mistpool-** Dark gray and black tabby she-cat

 **Sunstream-** Regal, fluffy golden she-cat with ice-blue eyes

 **Icefish-** Pure white she-cat

 **Cloudbelly-** Pale gray and white tom with a very thick pelt

 **Lightningripple-** Black and white tom with golden eyes

 **Breezestripe-** Silver tabby she-cat

 **Hornetclaw-** Golden brown tom with a huge scar on his cheek

 **Tigerface-** Ginger tabby tom with thick black stripes, particularly on the sides of his face

 **Troutleap-** Brown tom with a white underbelly

 **Stonefall-** Long furred silver tom with yellow eyes

 **Carpspeckle-** Dark brown tortoiseshell she-cat with white flecks on her muzzle and legs

 **Frostyfern-** White she-cat with tortoiseshell patches

 **Sparrowfoot-** Small tortoiseshell she-cat with a stubby tail

 **Stormfrost-** Gray and white tom with yellow eyes

 **Riverfur-** Black smoke tabby she-cat with blue eyes

 **Apprentice, Snowpaw**

 **Thistledawn-** Long-furred orange and white she-cat, Rosestar's daughter

 **Redstripe-** Dark ginger tabby tom

 **Claypelt-** Reddish brown tabby tom

 **APPRENTICES** (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

 **Mintberry-** Silver and white tabby she-cat

 **Snowpaw-** Beautiful white she-cat with golden patches, ice-blue eyes, and long, soft fur

 **QUEENS** (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)

 **Dawnlake-** Cream colored she-cat

 **ELDERS** (former warriors and queens, now retired)

 **Minnowspots-** Dappled dark gray tom

 **Splashwing-** Tortoiseshell she-cat with yellow eyes

 **Lillyleaf-** Brown and white she-cat, has an eye missing

 **THUNDERCLAN:**

 **LEADER** **Lionstar-** Large smoky black tom with long fur

 **DEPUTY** **Mantisflight-** Thin, narrow-faced tortoiseshell

 **MEDICINE CAT** **Falconfeather-** Gray-brown tabby tom

 **WARRIORS**

 **Swiftleaf-** Brown and white tom

 **Lizardclaw-** Lean black tom with a narrow face and piercing green eyes

 **Scorchflower-** Ginger she-cat with yellow eyes

 **Raveneye-** Black tom

 **Apprentice, Owlpaw**

 **Rockfang-** Dark gray tabby tom

 **Apprentice, Mudpaw**

 **Poppystripe-** Dappled golden tabby she-cat with a dark stripe running down her back

 **Applespeck-** Reddish brown she-cat with darker flecks on her head and legs

 **Softsky-** Brown and white she-cat with a scar on her cheek

 **Rootpelt-** Dark brown tabby tom with thick stripes

 **Mousetooth-** Short-limbed dark brown tabby tom

 **Hollypelt-** Black and white she-cat with spiky fur

 **Robintail-** Mousy brown tabby tom with bright green eyes

 **Bramblerush-** Dark brown tom

 **APPRENTICES**

 **Owlpaw-** Solid brown tom with a white underbelly

 **Mudpaw-** Handsome, light brown tom with piercing orange eyes

 **QUEENS**

 **Larkflight-** Glossy-furred dark brown she-cat

 **Stormsong-** Dappled silver she-cat with blue eyes

 **Blossomheart-** White and gray she-cat

 **ELDERS**

 **Thrushfeather-** Big brown tabby tom

 **Foxfoot-** Ragged dark ginger she-cat with one black paw

 **SHADOWCLAN:**

 **LEADER** **Shrewstar-** Dark brown and white tabby tom with amber eyes

 **DEPUTY** **Whitewhisker-** Thin white tom

 **MEDICINE CAT** **Maplefur-** Light brown she-cat with white ears, a white chest, and amber eyes

 **Apprentice, Crowpaw**

 **WARRIORS**

 **Leopardfang-** Golden brown tom with protruding canine teeth

 **Runningstorm-** Lean black tom

 **Frogfoot-** Pale gray tom with big paws

 **Spiderpelt-** Light brown tabby tom with jet-black stripes

 **Sweetleaf-** Glossy-furred tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Breezemist-** Dappled silver she-cat with blue eyes

 **Apprentice, Grasspaw**

 **Brindletail-** Brown tabby she-cat

 **Grayclaw-** Battle-scarred solid gray tom

 **Dovefeather-** Small, pure white she-cat with yellow eyes

 **APPRENTICES**

 **Crowpaw-** Little black tom with small ears

 **Grasspaw-** Dark brown tabby tom

 **QUEENS**

 **Foxflight-** Bright ginger and white she-cat

 **Softflower-** Fluffy-furred pale gray and white tabby she-cat

 **ELDERS**

 **Cloudflight-** Long-furred white she-cat

 **Redflower-** Dark ginger she-cat

 **Fernpelt-** Tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

 **WINDCLAN**

 **LEADER** **Fawnstar-** Pale brown she-cat with bright green eyes

 **DEPUTY** **Rabbitfur-** Dusky brown tom, growing old

 **MEDICINE CAT** **Brightstorm-** Bright ginger and white tabby tom with big yellow eyes

 **Apprentice, Nettlepaw**

 **WARRIORS**

 **Stormwhisper-** Long bodied white tom

 **Apprentice, Silverpaw**

 **Hawkcry-** Long furred brown tom with blue eyes and a scar on his muzzle

 **Apprentice, Oakpaw**

 **Dawnfeather-** Black she-cat with tortoiseshell patches

 **Galeclaw-** Thin, pale gray she-cat with pale green eyes and a long tail

 **Apprentice, Frostpaw**

 **Heatherfall-** Pretty brown tabby she-cat with dark green eyes and a white tipped tail

 **Flowerwhisker-** Tawny, long-bodied she-cat with a fluffy, white-tipped tail

 **Stagheart-** Reddish brown tabby tom with a shredded ear

 **Coyotefang-** Big ginger and gray tom

 **Apprentice, Pebblepaw**

 **Fogwing-** Very pale silver she-cat with long, soft fur

 **Barkpelt-** Thin-furred dark brown tabby tom

 **Skyleap-** Long limbed white tom

 **APPRENTICES**

 **Nettlepaw-** Gray tom with a white chest and muzzle

 **Silverpaw-** Thick-pelted solid silver she-cat with golden eyes

 **Pebblepaw-** Gray tabby tom with white paws and amber eyes

 **Oakpaw-** Dark brown dappled tom

 **Frostpaw-** Petite white she-cat

 **QUEENS**

 **Flowershade-** Dark tortoiseshell she-cat

 **Dapplepool-** Sleek pale gray she-cat with darker flecks and amber eyes

 **ELDERS**

 **Haretail-** Light brown tom with a stumped tail

 **Eagleheart-** Heavilly battle-scarred golden brown tabby tom with a white chest and underbelly and dark amber eyes


	2. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

 _A strange scent that_ Riverpaw had never smelled before seemed to lightly drift in the area as she gazed at the glimmering, greenish waters, waiting for the sharp sparkle of a fish's scale to shine through the current. For a moment, her concentration broke as she slightly lifted her head, heavily sniffing in an attempt to make out what exactly it was she detected, her mind desperate to figure it out, but to no avail. Her thoughts were cut off, however, when she heard her mentor growl harshly at her for her loss of attention.

"Focus, Riverpaw!" Lilyleaf meowed sharply at the black and silver apprentice, her jade green eyes narrowing into an impatient glare. Riverpaw shook her head in mild shock, and with a quiet, mildly disappointed sigh, she redirected her gaze to the river, still bothered by the unidentified scent, even though it was a fairly weak one. _The clan must be fed._ She told herself. _Just forget about the smell. It's distracting you from your duty. After all, those fish are not going to catch themselves._

Trying to push the disturbance out of her mind, Riverpaw regained most of her concentration on the rushing waters, waiting silently and determinedly for some prey to catch her eye, feeling the hot Greenleaf sun bear down on her dark pelt.

 _Thank StarClan Rosestar reclaimed the Sunningrocks a moon ago._ Riverpaw thought. _Otherwise there would be some cheeky ThunderClan cats mocking me across the border, and that would definitely be one distraction too many._

But she stopped the internal dialogue right there as she noticed the shimmer of fish scales beneath the surface of the river, and with a quick and instinctive lash of the claws, she snatched a small trout from the flowing water. The young black smoke tabby then pinned her catch to a nearby stone and gave it a swift killing-bite, bowing her head and thanking StarClan for the life of her fresh-kill shortly afterward.

"Very good, Riverpaw." Lilyleaf purred, wrapping her fluffy tail around her forepaws. Riverpaw let out a _mrrow_ of slight pride as she shook her pelt, picking up the trout.

The senior warrior and the apprentice walked over to the fresh-kill pile. Some of the other apprentices, Stormpaw, Mintpaw, and Thistlepaw, had gathered nearby, already finished with their task of gathering some prey for the clan and waiting for their denmate to fulfill her duties for the day. Before joining her comrades, Riverpaw turned to her mentor after leaving the fish she caught on the stack of prey, the memory of the peculiar scent nagging at her brain to the point where she couldn't hold back the urge to query about it any longer. "Lilyleaf," she meowed, an almost confused tone in her voice. ".…Are you _sure_ you didn't smell that?"

The brown and white warrior wrinkled her nose and tilted her head slightly, a look of faint disbelief in her dark eyes. "Smell _what?_ "

"That strange scent back at the river!" Riverpaw replied, her dark blue eyes wide with dismay. "Surely, it caught your attention, too!?"

Lilyleaf sighed in exasperation and shook her head. "I'm afraid my nose isn't as keen as it used to be, Riverpaw." she meowed almost begrudgingly, not wishing to admit that she was getting a bit advanced in age, and it was only a matter of time before she would have to retire. "Can't exactly smell a thing unless it's right in front of my face."

"Oh…." Riverpaw mewed back in an apologetic tone. "I….I'm sorry. I didn't mean to poke fun at you or anything like that…."

Lilyleaf shrugged. "No offense taken, youngster." she meowed. "You didn't know. Most of the clan doesn't know, spare Rippleflower and Mintpaw, but no matter." she paused as she stretched out and let out a loud yawn. "You're about a moon or so away from becoming a warrior, so once that's done, I suppose I'll join the elders and finally get some peace and quiet." Lilyleaf said almost jokingly.

"Heh," Riverpaw quietly chucked in reply. "Maybe so." She turned around, noticing her denmates glancing at her impatiently. She looked back at her mentor, her tail mildly twitching with anxiety. "Well, the other apprentices are waiting for me."

Lilyleaf smirked as she scratched her ear. "Go ahead. You are dismissed." she purred.

Smiling, Riverpaw gave Lilyleaf a respectful nod before trotting over to her fellow apprentice's sides.

"Hah," Thistlepaw meowed as Riverpaw sat down next to Stormpaw, scratching beneath her foreleg. "What kept ya, Riverpaw? I thought for a moment that you fell in the river." the orange and white she-cat continued.

"In this heat, that doesn't sound so bad." Stormpaw said softly, looking up at the clear sun-high sky, his big, charming yellow eyes squinting as his vision slowly drifted towards the blinding sun.

Riverpaw sighed and shook her head. "I just….picked up the strangest scent while I was fishing out there." She meowed. "I had no idea what it was, and it just kept distracting me."

Mintpaw turned her head towards her clanmate, taking a break from grooming her thick fur. "Fox, perhaps? I heard from Falconfeather that foxes are everywhere over in ThunderClan territory. Wouldn't be too big of a shock if you smelled one near the border."

"Maybe. I hear that they smell pretty strong." Riverpaw meowed. She looked down slightly as some worry entered her mind, her eyes darkening. "I hear that they're also pretty dangerous, too, right?"

"Nah, not to us at least." Stormpaw answered. "Unless they manage to cross the stepping stones, they can't reach our territory.

"Even so," Mintpaw interrupted her brother. "Don't you think we should tell Ro-"

The apprentice medicine cat was cut short as two kits, one a black and white tom and the other a white and gold she-kit, pranced by them, play fighting and making quite the din as their mother, a lovely and long-furred golden she-cat, pursued them.

The little tom kit pinned his sister down as he let out an earsplitting yowl of triumph. "RiverClan has won the battle yet again!" he screamed. The she-kit let out a whine as she glared at her brother. "Hey! You said that _I_ was going to be the RiverClan warrior this time!" she growled.

The tom let go of his sister and licked his forepaw. "But _I won,_ Snowkit, which means I'm the RiverClan warrior." He retorted.

"But Rainkit, you were the RiverClan warrior _last time_!" Snowkit moaned, getting up and then almost immediately sitting down as an indignant expression crossed her face. "Besides, I'm sick and tired of being the stupid rogue."

Their mother finally caught up with the two kits and stepped between them. "You'll both be warriors of this clan in due time." She purred, hiding the exhaustion she felt from chasing her kits around for so long from her voice and replacing it with a pleasant and comforting tone. She looked up from her kits for a second and noticed the four apprentices standing there. "Oh," she began with a simper. "Hello, you all."

"Hey, Mother." Riverpaw greeted, turning to face the she-cat.

"Afternoon, Sunstream." Stormpaw meowed at the gold pelted queen good-naturedly as the other two apprentices smiled at her.

"So," Thistlepaw mewed in Sunstream's direction. "What's up?"

"Oh," Sunstream sighed, twitching her whiskers. "Just making sure these two rascals don't disturb the entire camp." She said as she glanced at Snowkit and Rainkit, who were once again noisily play fighting.

"Rascals." Thistlepaw echoed doubtfully. "Strange words you kittypets use, err, no offense."

"Hah! None taken." Sunstream told the ginger apprentice with confidence. "I wouldn't return to my old life for the world."

Sunstream then sighed and picked up Rainkit, who noisily mewled in protest. She nodded her head to the apprentices and made her way back to the queen's den, Snowkit racing behind her.

After the queen and her rambunctious offspring had left, the four apprentices continued to talk and talk. At one point, Mintpaw had to leave the group, remembering she had to check up on Hornetclaw. He had apparently been going through a stomachache as of late, and while it was nothing deadly, it was still causing him enough discomfort to prevent him from carrying out his duties as a warrior. And so, only Riverpaw, Stormpaw, and Thistlepaw remained, chattering on about funny stories from the other day, about their hopes and plans for tomorrow, and about their dreams for the distant future.

Unfortunately, their colloquy was brought to a close by one of the most nightmarish of things.

"Dog! Dog!" They heard Stonefall shout in the distance.

The three young cats perked their ears and looked towards the entrance of the camp.

Riverpaw shivered as if she felt several spiders were climbing through her pelt when she looked at the massive beast. She had seen dogs before, but they were all fairly small, scruffy, and not very intimidating, actually looking rather silly. This dog was another story. It was massive, it's size rivaling that of even a twoleg, its pelt was thin and sleek, its eyes were dark and swirled with violence, and its ivory fangs were almost half the size of the apprentice's head. Many of the cats were swarming the creature, trying to drive it away before it got too close to any of the dens. As Riverpaw and the other two apprentices rushed to aid their clanmates, she noticed that the dog had thrown a few warriors off, Lilyleaf in particular had been hit hard by the monstrous canine, hiding half of her face as she rushed to the medicine den. Duskwind had been sent flying against the willow tree in the clearing, but he simply got right back up after a few seconds and rejoined the fray. Claypaw was on the beast's back, holding on for dear life as it tried to shake him off, and once it did, it jumped over the swarm of cats, seemingly in pursuit of Lilyleaf, but stopping for a moment, hearing more noise from a nearer den. As Riverpaw whipped around to chase the dog again, horror flooded over her when she realized where the thing had now decided to run for.

 _No….please, no! Not the nursery den!_

Riverpaw muted all of the sounds surrounding her in her ears and sprinted as fast as she could to the hiding place of her mother and younger siblings, her heart's terrified and rapid beat being the only thing she could possibly hear….

* * *

 _A/N: All right! The prologue is finally finished! I hope you all like_

 _it, and constructive e criticism is very much appreciated! :D_

 _Oh dear….things might not turn out too well right around here….I guess we'll see in the next chapter._

 _Also, just to explain some things, I know most clan cats address their parents by their actual names, so Riverpaw calling Sunstream "Mother" is actually pretty unusual. However, Sunstream was born and raised for the first few years of her life as a kittypet, as stated earlier, where a good majority of the cats called their parents "mother" or "father", before she fell in love with Riverpaw's, Snowkit's, and Rainkit's father and decided to join him in RiverClan. Sunstream's twoleg was, what most others of her kind called her, a "breeder", and things being passed down was supposed to be of upmost importance in her family. Looks, behavior, the feel of one's fur, everything that was good had to be transferred to the next generation of what could be the most exquisite of cat bloodlines. Thus, quite a few of Sunstream's mannerisms had been passed down to her kits, calling their parents "mom", "dad", "mother" "father", "momma", "papa", etc. apparently included._

 _This also explains why Riverpaw was named after her clan….considering how new Sunstream was to clan life….she wasn't exactly the most creative of cats when it came to naming her kits at first….(also, Riverpaw didn't have any littermates. Her only siblings are Rainkit and Snowkit, who were from a different litter)_


End file.
